1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods and devices for use in the rapid cooling and heating of fluids in various containers of differing geometry.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various devices and methods have been employed in cooling beverages or fluids in containers from room temperature to consumption-pleasing low temperatures, generally of about 5xc2x0 C. The most common method is the use of commercial or household refrigerators or freezer units into which the beverage containers are statically placed. Air inside the conventional refrigerator or freezer is cooled, and the air cools the beverages or fluids. While effective, such cooling means entails the utilization of massive refrigerator and freezer space (especially in commercial establishments) which is costly and is at a premium, particularly when freezer or refrigerator space is generally required for other food storage purposes.
In addition to occupying a lot of space, these conventional refrigeration and freezer units require inordinate initial periods of time to cool a liquid such as a beverage, for example, from room temperature (20xc2x0-25xc2x0 C.) to the desired 5xc2x0 C., approximately an hour to several hours. If reasonably immediate consumption is required, such as at point of sale, at parties, or on very hot days, this time delay for cooling is unacceptable. Also, many individuals prefer beverages at temperatures colder than a conventional refrigerator can provide, e.g., 1-2xc2x0 C.
Accordingly, quick cooling devices have been developed specifically for use with beverage containers. Some of these devices, while generally effective in reducing the time for cooling beverages, nevertheless still require a minimum of about five minutes for the cooling of a standard 12 oz beverage can, still an inordinate amount of waiting time for a customer; this cooling lag time increases for larger containers, such as 16 oz or 20 oz soda or beer bottles and roughly 25 oz wine bottles.
Existing cooling devices operate on one of two general methods involving heat transfer. A first method, and the most common one, involves cooling with ice such as embodied in a commercial device known as the Chill Wizzard and as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,405 to Cretemeyer, III. This device provides for placement of a beverage can on a bed of ice to effect heat transfer and cooling. Since only a portion of the container is in contact with the ice, the container is rotated against the ice. In order to rotate the device, a suction cup connected to the spindle of a motor is attached to the bottom of the can. In addition, in order to maintain heat transfer-contact with the ice, the device provides for a constant mechanically-exerted contact pressure of the container against the ice to compensate for the melting and consequent reduction of height of the ice. Since ice can have substantially lower temperatures than the desired drinking temperature, heat exchange and beverage temperature lowering is facilitated and hastened. However, the Chill Wizzard device can only chill 12 oz cans and is unable to accommodate a variety of different-sized or -shaped containers. Further problems with this method are discussed below.
A second, less effective method involves conveying or placing the beverage containers into a cold water or bath. Because the container is stationary, cooling times for this method have been substantially longer than that for methods which utilize horizontal rotation of the container. This is also true because the water is stationary as well.
Another commercial device is the Vin Chilla, a bucket-shaped device for cooling wine bottles. A bottle is placed upright in the bucket and ice and water are added thereto. The device swirls the water around the bottle. Although the Vin Chilla commercial literature claims it can chill wine to a drinkable temperature in about 4 minutes, this period is only valid for cooling red wines, which are to be consumed at only 1-2 degrees below room temperature. A white wine requires up to 20 minutes of cooling to be brought to a desirable temperature, e.g., 5xc2x0 C.
Despite its effectiveness in cooling (because of its low temperatures relative to water), the use of ice as a direct cooling medium can however be detrimental in certain common uses. When used for cooling carbonated beverages, particularly when such cooling is not carefully monitored, freezing of the beverage, with untoward consequences, is possible. Moreover, the temperature of ice is rarely at 0xc2x0 C. and is usually significantly lower. As a result, if the ice temperature is sufficiently low, freezing of the beverage within the container is possible, especially with extended cooling times. Since such containers are closed, it is difficult if not impossible to monitor temperature and phase conditions of the beverage during the cooling process to stop the process prior to any freezing. Under these conditions, with excessive cooling, partially frozen carbonated beverages will erupt when the container is opened. Though cold water is not subject to this detrimental effect with carbonated beverages, its use is however not as efficient in effecting the requisite rapid cooling.
In addition, none of the prior art devices discussed above can be used without major modification for other purposes, such as warming a beverage such as infant formula or making ice cream.
One major improvement in this field of endeavor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,054 to Loibl et al., the same inventors as the instant inventors and which patent is assigned to the same entity to which the instant invention is assigned. Loibl et al. teach an extremely rapid method and device for cooling beverages. One or more beverage containers are rapidly rotated substantially along their respective longitudinal axes while being downwardly sprayed with a cooling water spray, with the water being recycled from a 0xc2x0 C. ice water bath. The volumetric rate of the water in the water spray is sufficient to form a continuous coating on the rotating container. Rotation of the containers is effected in a horizontal direction, with the containers being nested between adjacent rotating rollers and rotated with a speed of between 200-500 rpm. Standard 12 oz. beverage cans can be cooled thereby from room temperature to a drinking temperature of 5xc2x0 C. in under one minute. The teachings of the Loibl patent are herein incorporated by reference, particularly col. 2, line 55-col. 5, line 58.
Yet the teachings of Loibl et al. in the ""054 patent do not expressly address the need to accommodate a variety of different-sized and shaped containers. Further, the prior Loibl device, while extremely effective, incorporates a number of spray jets positioned in various locations above the rotating containers and a number of rollers positioned below the containers. It is desirable to simplify this design. Also, since the average beverage consumer is not necessarily a technician, it is desirable to make the use of such a device as simple as possible, with respect to container placement within the device, among other things.
Moreover, it is desired to be able to use the basic principles of Loibl ""054 to increase the temperature of certain fluids and beverages, e.g., infant formula or milk. A current method involves placing a baby bottle in a pot of water on a stove and heating the water. Heating a baby bottle in this manner can cause the contents of the bottle to become extremely hot to the point of being dangerous.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for the very rapid cooling and heating of liquids such as beverages within containers, with a time period of cooling which is significantly shorter than that of prior art devices which utilize cooling with ice.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a rapid cooling and heating device which is safe, easily manufactured, and appropriate for a fairly unsophisticated consumer/retail market.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a rapid cooling device without the detriment of possible freezing of carbonated beverages.
It is another object of the invention to provide a single, simple-to-use control system for either cooling or heating a beverage or other fluid within a container.
It is another object of the invention to provide a rapid cooling device that can accommodate containers of differing sizes, shapes, and materials.
It is another object of the invention to provide a rapid cooling device that can change the state of the contents of a container.
The above and other objects are fulfilled by the invention, which is a method and device for rapidly cooling or heating fluids held in containers. The inventive method of rapidly changing at least one of the temperature and the state of a liquid in a container includes the steps of rapidly rotating the container about its longitudinal axis and providing a source of a thin film of a medium having a different temperature than the liquid in the container to thermally affect the container while rotating the container. The container is positioned at an angle to the horizontal of less than 45xc2x0, and the position of the container is passively with respect to the thin film source. The medium may be either a liquid or a gas. The provision of a thin film may preferably be accomplished by spraying the container with the medium from a spray source. As an alternative, in the case where it is desired to cool the contents of the container, ice may be employed above the container which melts to thereby provide the thin film of cooling medium (i.e., ice-cold water) which covers a substantial portion of the container by gravity and rotational forces.
The container may be shielded from direct physical contact with the medium by providing a covering around the container in thermal communication with the container. Preferably, the thermal effects of the medium pass through the covering and change at least one of the temperature and the state of a liquid in a container. The passive positioning of the container may preferably include angling the container at an angle from the rotational axis of the rotating mechanism so as to urge the container to move along the rotating mechanism via relative corkscrew application of force by the rotating mechanism.
The inventive method preferably includes a number of features to accommodate a variety of different containers. For example, the rotation of the container may be selectively disabled to accommodate containers that may not rotate conveniently (e.g., containers with non-round cross-sections, containers with corners, irregular-shaped containers, etc.). The inventive method may also preferably include providing a housing having a hole or cut-out portion to accommodate containers of varying sizes (i.e., some containers would be placed inside the housing but project from the hole).
The inventive method may further preferably include specific methods of cooling liquids in containers (such as beverages), warming liquids in containers (such as infant formula or milk in a baby bottle), and making ice cream.
The invention also includes a device for performing the above-described method. The device includes a housing having a bottom and side walls defining an interior volume. In one embodiment, the housing is a portion of a refrigerator, e.g., the door. A rotating mechanism having a longitudinal axis is disposed in the housing for rotating a container about the container""s longitudinal axis. A lateral positioner is disposed at an angle to the longitudinal axis in the housing adapted to position the container at an angle to the rotating mechanism. The device includes a source of a thin film of a medium having a first temperature different from a second temperature of the liquid inside the container to thermally affect the container. As mentioned above, the source of the thin film may be a spray jet spraying the medium towards the container, or it may include at least one piece of ice disposed above the container in contact with the container. In the latter version, as the ice melts, the ice creates a thin film of cold water which cools the container.
In the former spray jet version, the device preferably includes a reservoir in the interior volume adapted to contain a quantity of the medium and a pump in communication with the reservoir and the spray jet. The pump draws the medium from the reservoir and pumps it to the spray jet. The lateral positioner causes the container to move towards the spray jet when the rotating mechanism is rotating.
The device may preferably include an active heating or cooling unit in communication with the reservoir to maintain the temperature of the medium in the reservoir. In one embodiment, that function is accomplished by a Peltier device in thermal communication with the reservoir. When the apparatus is being used to cool the liquid, the Peltier device cools the device warms the medium in the reservoir. The great versatility of the Peltier device is achieved simply by reversing the direction of the flow of current through the Peltier device. That is, when the current flows in one direction, one side is cold and the other is hot. When the current flows in the opposite direction, the first side is hot while the second side is cold.
A covering may be provided removably disposable around the container in thermal communication with the container shielding the container from direct contact with the medium. The thermal effects of the medium pass through the covering and change at least one of the temperature and the state of the liquid in the container.
In one embodiment, the lateral positioner includes a plurality of ribs that project from at least one of the side walls, and may be provided from more than one side wall. The rotating means is preferably a single roller preferably having raised contact portions, such as rubber contact rings, for example, which contact the container only at discrete points along the length of the roller/can interface. The roller and ribs may support the container above the reservoir, either out of contact with the reservoir or partially submerged in the reservoir. In the preferred embodiment, the roller supports the container from underneath and the ribs (or side wall) support the container on the side.
Preferably, the ribs vary in width (the dimension orthogonal to the side wall from which they project); specifically, the profile of the ribs is skew-angled with respect to the roller. This angling of the profile of the ribs forces the container to be angled with respect to the roller, which causes the container to move longitudinally as it is rotated, a feature which will be explained below.
A water jet of sufficient volumetric flow rate will tend to spread over the entire surface of the container even if it is limited to a small initial area of impingement on the container. Thus, water jet dispensing means, such as a shower head or spray jet is effectively provided directly above a portion of the container. The provision of the aforementioned contact rings on the roller enables the water to coat a greater surface area of the container than would be possible with a solid roller; i.e., the sprayed water clings to the container around the entire surface of the containerxe2x80x94even the bottom-most portionxe2x80x94except where the contact rings engage the container. The contact rings also create much better frictional contact with the container than a simple solid roller and prevent hydroplaning of the container on the roller during rotation. Because of the angling of the profile of the ribs, the container moves closer to the rear of the housing towards the spray jet. The advantage is that the need for a number of spray jets is reduced, because the container is consistently and repeatably positioned within the cooling unit so that a single spray jet can cover the entire surface of the container.
The housing is also preferably provided with a cut-out portion formed in a front end of the housing. The cut-out is provided to accommodate containers having long necks that may exceed the dimensions of the cooling unit. In this way, containers such as wine or beer bottles may be rapidly chilled by a device that need not be as large as to enclose an entire wine bottle. Manufacturing materials are saved, and costs are thus reduced. Moreover, the size of the device is reduced, thereby conserving kitchen counter space in a domestic setting. The provision of a cut-out further emphasizes the importance of angling the ribs to control the positioning of the container with respect to the spray jet. A splash guard may be removably provided to cover the cut-out portion so as to reduce the amount of the medium that exits the housing during operation.
Optionally, the device includes timing means for showering the containers for a predetermined time sufficient to effect the requisite cooling or warming. The device may be preprogrammed with a set number of different timing sequences and/or rotational speeds depending on the type of container, the type of liquid/beverage, and the desired temperature of the liquid. The device may include a means for continuing the sequence beyond the predetermined period of time if the user wishes to provide extra cooling or warming for the liquid. Temperature sensors may be provided to monitor the reservoir, the liquid in the container, or both. The container sensors may be contact sensors, infrared sensors, or the like.